Conventionally, a method of obtaining an artificial stone by pulverizing a natural stone to an optional size, mixing a calcium carbonate or the like and a resin therewith and hardening has already been known.
According to such an artificial stone, efforts have been made for realizing the heavy granite-like or marble-like surface having the transparency and the depth according to the composition thereof and improvement of the production method.
In contrast, with the attempt for the improvement, improvement of the function of the artificial stone has been discussed.
However, in the case of most conventional artificial stones, an artificial stone having a marble-like heavy depth in the surface, a transparency, and sufficient strength, hardness and durability as a stone material is not realized yet. Moreover, the improvement of the function is indeed the task to be tackled in the future.
In such a situation, the present inventors of the application have developed artificial stones essentially different from the conventional artificial stones, having the unprecedented feeling, tone and physical property. Then, the present inventors of the application have provided a novel function to the artificial stones for facilitating expansion of the application thereof.
In the process of the discussion, it was learned that an artificial stone provided with a non-slipping property in the surface thereof for preventing slipping at the time of walking thereon, or the like is extremely important from the viewpoint of the function and the application.
That is, for the interior floors of a bathroom, a toilet, a kitchen, or the like, the exterior floors of a poolside, an entrance, or the like, a bath tub, a step or a passage in a town, a railway platform, a public institution, a factory floor, or the like, surface non-slipping property is an important function for security and disaster prevention, and thus it is an indispensable element. Furthermore, in the case of the artificial stones, such a non-slipping property of preventing slippage has hardly been discussed in the real situation.
For example, so far, as an artificial stone provided with a non-slipping process and a production method for the artificial stone, a process of forming ruggedness in the surface part by a water jet process of the surface part of an artificial stone provided with a polish process for cutting out and eliminating the resin part of the artificial stone surface comprising a grain-like stone material part and a resin part is proposed (JP-A No. 100816, Tajima Corp.). However, the proposal is just for disclosing a known method of a water jet process of an artificial stone and commonly known knowledge in the construction and engineering techniques of improving the slippage preventing performance by the surface ruggedness, and thus basic problems and means such as the characteristics of the non-slipping performance in the artificial stone surface, how the performance can be improved, or the like are not mentioned at all.
Then, the present inventors of the application have elaborately discussed for realizing an artificial stone having strength and hardness required for the floor material, or a floor surface of a step, a passage, a street, a railway platform, and a public institution, a beautiful appearance same as or more than a natural stone material, and the above-mentioned non-slipping property.
In the process of the discussion, effectiveness of having a specific composition configuration of an artificial stone, that is, having the ratio of the resin component by 15% by weight or less at the time of eliminating the surface resin part by water jetting after surface polish for improvement of the non-slipping characteristic, and further improvement of the non-slipping performance in this case by having the ratio of the resin exposed flat surface area occupied in the unit surface (50×50 mm) by 15% or more and 40% or less have been found out so as to propose the same as a novel technique (JP-A No. 9-227188, WO99/36371).
However, in the discussion thereafter, a further essential factor has been found out as to the non-slipping performance. Moreover, it was learned that the points to be borne in mind are different for the case of a poolside, a bath tub, a bath room floor material, or the like to be contacted with bear feet and the case of a passage, a sidewalk, or the like to be contacted with hard shoe soles, or the like.
Accordingly, an object of the invention of the present application is to provide a novel artificial stone having a dense organization, transparency and depth, the excellent marble-like feeling and tone, or the like, a large surface hardness, a good shaping property, and the excellent non-slipping performance in the case of contact with bare feet or in the case of contact with hard shoe soles according to the limit of the conventional technique or the study by the inventors above mentioned.